Brake-block



-' J. B. BOWMER.

BRAKE BLOCK.

APPLICATION FILED OCT-4,1919.

1,336,882, I Patented Apr. 13, 1920.

WITNESSES JOHN B. BOWMER, OF PLUMMER, IDAHO.

BRAKE-BLOCK.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 13, 1920.

Application filed October 4, 1919. Serial No. 329,064.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, JOHN B. BoWMnR, a citizen of the United States, residing at Plummer, in the county of'Benewah and State of Idaho, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Brake-Blocks, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates in general to brakes and more to a brake block which is adapted to use in connection with railway rolling stock or ordinary vehicles or 1n fact may be employed to act as a brake shoe upon variv ous forms of machinery.

One object of the invention is the production of a brake .bloclr which includes a body so constructed as to efficiently support a wear strip thereon and also to allow the actuating lever to be secured thereto so that the block may be effectively actuated to constitute a braking means in conjunction with the machine or device upon which the same is carried.

Another object of this invention is the production of a brake block including a body having undercut parallel flanges adapted to receive the beveled edges of a wear strip to cause the wear strip to be removably supported to engage the surface of the element to be braked so that this wear strip will take up all wear and when the same is worn it may be displaced and a new strip inserted in lieu thereof as may be required.

Another object of this invention is the production of a brake block wherein the body is provided with reinforcing ribs upon its rear surface and also with a supporting shoulder intermediate its ends adapted to engage the end of the hanger to which it is connected toreinforce or steady the connection while the body is also provided with such securement to connect the same to the hanger as may allow the same to be moved slightly to one side or other when being secured to allow wear to be imparted upon the device wherever it may be desired.

One practical form of construction and assembly of the present invention will be I hereinafter described and is illustrated in the drawing, in which Figure 1 is a side elevation partly in section of the device.

Fig. 2 is a rear elevation of the brake block, the hanger being shown in fragmentary elevation.

Fig. 3 is a front elevation of the device shown partly in section and also illustrating the wear strip fragmentaril i Fig. 4 is a section taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 1.

In the preferred embodnnent of the present invention about to be specifically described, it will be seen that the brake block comprises an elongated curved body 5. fact, in side elevation this body might be termed broadly as crescent shaped as is shown in Fig. 1 thus causing the forward surface thereof to be curved in the arc of a circle as indicated at 6 and to be flat for purposes as will presently appear. The body is provided with parallel side flanges 7 at its forward surface the flanges being undercut as shown at 8. Accordingly a wear strip 9 of an elongated curved construction either being of a one piece nature or of a sectional construction is provided for the brake block and the side edges of this wear strip 9 are beveled off as shown at 10 whereby the strip may he slipped into engagement with the side flanges with the curved forward surface 6 of the body 5 being firmly held against forward or side displacement by the manner in which its beveled side edges 10 will engage the undercut surfaces 8 of the flanges Set screws or other securing elements 11 may be passed through the flanges 7 and into the strip 9 adjacent the ends thereof as shown clearly in Fig. 3, whereby this strip will be firmly held against endwise thrusts or displacement.

The rear surface of the body 5 is provided with a plurality of longitudinally extending reinforcing ribs 12, the ribs at the lower end of the body terminating at their inner ends by merging in a transversely extending shoulder 13. The upper ribs terminate at their inner 'ends at the vertically out Wall 14 communicating with the upper flat wall 15 of the shoulder 18 as shown clearly in Figs. 1 and 2. The body 5 is provided with a plurality of sockets 16 in the flat curved surface 6 thereof as shown in Fig. l and these sockets 16 communicate with a plurality of flat bores 17 extending transversely through the body 5 from the forward to the rear portion thereof as shown clearly in Fig. 4. The headed bolts 18 have their heads received within the sockets 16 while their bodies extend through the flattened bores 17 to project beyond the vertical walls 1-4: as shown in Figs.

. bolts, thus firmly connecting the brake block upon the actuating lever. In view of the fact that the bolts 18 pass through flat bores 17 it is obvious that when the body is being connected to the actuating lever it may be slipped slightly to either side as may be'desired to cause wearing action to be imparted at any desired point particularly upon the wear strip 9. It will be seen that the block is of a very simple construction and that the mannerin which the ribs extend upon the rear surface thereof reinforce the same while the shoulder andflat wall provide a bearing surface for the actuating lever which will assist the bolt in firmly supporting the block upon the lower end of the actuating lever without any torsional or torque action. Furthermore, in view of the fact that the side flanges 7 are provided, the wear strip may be removably supported so that when necessary a new strip may be applied to the forward portion of the body. The device is comparatively simple in construction as the reinforcing ribs and the flanges allow the body to be efiiciently applied to the actuating lever to efiiciently support the wear strip thus permitting the device to be used uponrailway rolling stock or upon vehicles or even upon machines where in presence 0 fall within the scope of the appended claim. Having thus fully described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

A device of the class described comprising a body provided with a shoulder upon its rear surface and flat bores extending through the body so as to terminate above said shoulder, sockets provided in the front surface so as to register with said bores,

bolts carried by said body and extendingthrough said bores so as to allow their ends to rest in said sockets, an actuating lever carried upon the projecting end of the bolt so as to have its terminal abut said shoulder, means engagingthe projecting end of the bolt to hold the lever against accidental displacement, said flat bores allowing'side adjustment of said body.

In testimon whereof I aifix my signature two witnesses.

JOHN B. BOWMER.

Witnesses:

Jorm T. BUsH, EUGENE WONOMKER. 

